Insecticides May Be Giving Songbirds Anorexia and Delaying Their Migrations

An experiment with white-crowned sparrows shows that insecticides may be impacting songbirds. (Credit: Phil Lowe/Shutterstock)



Some migrating songbirds may be starving thanks to agricultural pesticides. Neonicotinoids are popular insecticides used in industrial agriculture across the U.S. But the chemicals' are controversial because of their detrimental impact on bees and other pollinators.



Now, a group of researchers has added heat to the debate, showing that even small amounts of one pa